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No Wimpy Wines. That’s the motto of Ravenswood Winery, a winery that believes that white Zinfandel’s best quality is that it preserved Old Vine Zinfandel during Prohibition. That’s not just some flashy name either: Joel Peterson, founder and winemaker of Ravenswood and nicknamed “the Godfather of Zin,” lives it every day. He spent 15 tireless years tr... Read more

No Wimpy Wines. That’s the motto of Ravenswood Winery, a winery that believes that white Zinfandel’s best quality is that it preserved Old Vine Zinfandel during Prohibition. That’s not just some flashy name either: Joel Peterson, founder and winemaker of Ravenswood and nicknamed “the Godfather of Zin,” lives it every day. He spent 15 tireless years trying to get his winery to turn a profit, and while his first harvest was in 1976, it was in 1992 that he finally quit his other job at a clinical lab, splitting his life in two the whole time.
Financing the operation was always difficult. For many years, the winery moved around, trying to find a cheap place to house their operations. It wasn’t until their Vintners Blend program was launched that they were finally able to settle down with the money they made, in 1991. Starting in the mid 80s, Vintners Blend was a less expensive wine, thanks to the fact that it was created by blending many grapes from different vineyards.
In 1982 Ravenswood made their first Zinfandel with grapes from multiple vineyards, creating its County Series: wines that feature regional distinctions. Today, it sources grapes from over 100 vineyards in northern California, a huge expansion from its original vagabond roots. Read less

Member Reviews for Ravenswood Napa Zinfandel

Well, this wine had a lot of the "zips" and "zings" that I think a zinfandel should have, but strangely enough, they seemed to be in all the wrong places, and seemed to crash into each other, rather than flow with one another. so it just came out all wrong for me.
That seems odd beings that it is a blend, and could be crafted in order for the different components to work together better
Maybe since this is Ravenswood entry level wine with several higher options, they're just displaying a little bit of that zinfandel magic, but in way that will not fully satisfy (I wasn't satisfied, anyway), in order to prod people on to other levels.

A gutsy wine with fruit sourced from notable vineyards throughout the valley, this Old Vine Zinfandel is expressive with notes of warm spice and vanilla. Powerful, full-bodied raspberry and blackberry flavors with structured tannins.

Tasting Notes:

This very tasty Rose is definitely a quaffer. Made with 100% Syrah grapes from the Russian River Valley, it's crisp, clean and refreshing and definitely not wimpy. Nit a sweetie, it's essentially dry with vivid flavors - think strawberry! Drink it cold!

Pleasing bright, ripe plum flavors with mouth-watering acidity and fine tannin structure followed by a racy, lingering finish that tastes of raspberries, cloves, cardamom and vanilla